CARSON, Calif. – Just before halftime against Columbus last Saturday, Chivas USA rookie Blair Gavin raced forward to chase down a long Dan Kennedy punt. Pressuring Crew defender Shaun Francis, Gavin leapt on a misplayed clearance from the right back and nipped the ball over William Hesmer for a 2-0 Goats lead.

As the Home Depot Center crowd burst into celebration, Gavin ran along the endline to the left of the goal and, after some hugs from teammates, started to dance.

“In Akron, a bunch of my friends do this jerk thing,” Gavin told MLSsoccer.com after the game. “My dance is a tribute to all the guys back there that I miss. I do it and I know they’re watching.”

The “Jerk thing” to which Gavin refers is a Southern California street dance phenomenon known simply as “The Jerk.” The style was popularized by hip-hop artists the New Boyz, whose 2009 hit single “You’re a Jerk” reached as high as No. 4 on the Billboard American Hot Rap Tracks and boasts more than 40 million hits on YouTube.

As strange as Gavin’s post-goal antics may or may not have looked on Saturday, his dance isn’t the only way he honors his friends and family on the pitch during games. Chivas USA fans will have noticed by now that Gavin tapes both his wrists with white tape before every match and even every practice.

“I wear a bunch of bracelets from my family and friends,” said Gavin. “It’s sentimental value that they’re with me at all times. I tape them down before I play. It’s not superstition or anything. Just sometimes I’ll be tired on the field and I’ll look down and see my wrists and feel my friends there with me.”